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Friday, March 30, 2012

If this tree could speak, what would it tell us?
Would it remember generations who climbed and played on it?
Would it remember the parades that marched by, year after year?
Would it remember the rains, the storms, the lightning and the snow?
Would it remember other trees that are no longer here?
Or would it remain silent, knowing that spoke loudest of all?

Thursday, March 29, 2012

This is a recap of the three days of oral arguments in the Supreme Court and excerpts (with links) to the coverage by SCOTUSblog and the Texas Public Policy Foundation. I've embedded the audio from the Supreme Court so you can listen to the full arguments by both sides and hear the justices speak for yourself so you don't have to listen to some talking head tell you what they said.

You can also download a PDF Guide on the issues before the Supreme Court from the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Day One

I have embedded the full audio from today's oral argument in the Supreme Court:

The curtain lifted this morning on the first act of the three-day drama that is the challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known (more colloquially) as just “the health care statute” and (mostly) by opponents “Obamacare.” And what a scene it was. Outside, protesters gathered with megaphones, while inside the courtroom the reporters craned their necks to spot politicians and other influential Washingtonians in the gallery.

The procedural issue before the Court in today’s argument was whether an obscure Reconstruction-era law, the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), would bar the Court from even considering the merits of the question that most people regard as the main event of the health care litigation: the constitutionality of the ACA’s requirement that virtually all Americans obtain health insurance by January 1, 2014 or face a penalty.

The issue comes up because the AIA prohibits lawsuits to challenge a tax until the tax has actually been assessed; the penalty for the failure to obtain insurance in the health care statute is, the argument goes, a tax for purposes of the AIA.

By the time the ninety minutes of argument were over, it seemed likely that the answer to that question is that the AIA will not stop the Court from deciding the constitutionality of the mandate. But if it remains to be seen how the Court will reach this result and move on to consider the mandate on its merits.

TODAY’S ISSUE: The applicability of the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) as it relates to the individual mandate’s tax penalty.

KEY POINTS FROM THE ARGUMENT: Most of the justices seemed skeptical of the argument that the challenge to the individual mandate is barred by the AIA because the mandate is a tax. As Justice Ginsburg noted, “This is not a revenue-raising measure, because, if it’s successful, they won’t – nobody will pay the penalty and there will be no revenue to raise.” Justice Breyer agreed: “They called it a penalty and not a tax for a reason.”

This morning the Court reconvened to hear two hours’ worth of oral arguments on the question at the heart of the battle over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): whether the government can require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance by January 1, 2014 or face a penalty. Although this question had long been regarded as the “main event” of the three days that the Court will devote to oral arguments on the ACA, it gained even more significance (to the extent that such a thing is possible) after yesterday’s argument, in which the Justices signaled that they are not likely to let a little-known nineteenth-century law deter them from reaching the merits of today’s question. And after today’s argument, it is not at all clear whether the mandate will survive.

KEY POINTS FROM THE ARGUMENT: Several of the justices expressed skepticism about the propriety of the mandate. Justice Kennedy stated that the mandate “changes the relationship of the Federal Government to the individual in the very fundamental way.” Justice Scalia said that a law which violates the principle of limited powers cannot be “proper” within the meaning of the Necessary and Proper Clause. And Justices Roberts and Alito seemed deeply troubled by the government’s inability to articulate a limiting principle for the federal commerce power.

The Justices who seemed to favor the mandate’s constitutionality did not seem to agree on the basis for sustaining the law. Justice Breyer effectively conceded the challengers’ argument that upholding the mandate would make federal authority unlimited. Justice Ginsburg, by contrast, focused more narrowly on the costs uncompensated care have on the wider health insurance market.

This morning the Court returned for the final set of arguments in the challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). First up in the morning, for ninety minutes, was the question of “severability” – what part, if any, of the ACA survives if the Court holds that the mandate is unconstitutional? Many people who follow the Court had predicted that this argument could be a largely hypothetical (and therefore boring) one if it seemed clear yesterday that the Court would uphold the mandate. But with the prospect that the mandate will be struck down very real, everyone was now watching this severability argument carefully. And it was far from boring.

Paul Clement was back at the podium this morning on behalf of the twenty-six states challenging the ACA, to argue that if the mandate falls it must take all the rest of the Act with it. He began by emphasizing that the government agreed with him on one point: if the mandate falls, so also must two related provisions that require insurance companies to provide insurance to everyone, even sick people, at reasonable rates. But then he took that argument further, telling the Court that it would then need to strike down other provisions that were also related to the mandate. (He listed a series of such provisions in an approach that evoked the old children’s song: “The hip bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the knee bone . . . .”) Because what would be left, he concluded, was merely a hollow shell, the better option would be to strike down the whole law and let Congress start over with a clean slate.

Source: SCOTUSblog: In Plain English: Is half a loaf better than no loaf?

KEY POINTS FROM THE ARGUMENT: While some justices seemed inclined to uphold the remainder of the law, others appeared open to striking the whole law down or to selectively invalidating parts of the law while leaving other provisions untouched. Justice Scalia: “My approach would say if you take the heart out of the statute, the statute’s gone. That enables Congress to – to do what it wants in – in the usual fashion. And it doesn’t inject us into the process of saying, ‘this is good, this is bad, this is good, this is bad.’” Justice Ginsburg: “[I]t’s a choice between a wrecking operation, which is what you are requesting, or a salvage job. And the more conservative approach would be salvage rather than throwing out everything.”

The Western North Carolina Alliance is inviting the community to join us for the “Renewing Our Roots” spring gathering, to honor and celebrate WNCA’s founding in Macon County.

The event will be April 14 in Franklin.

Several free family-friendly activities will be offered throughout the day, culminating in a barbecue dinner and live music celebration at the Memorial United Methodist Church where WNCA’s founder, Esther Cunningham, was a member.

Mrs. Cunningham, a Macon County native, was 64 years old when she founded the Alliance in 1982. It is the only grassroots environmental advocacy focused solely on conserving Western North Carolina’s natural heritage.

She was motivated to create the Alliance by her love of the mountains and forests. She was outraged when the Forest Service considered allowing private companies to explore for oil and gas in the national forest.

Mrs. Cunningham pulled together her friends and neighbors, environmentalists and hunters, natives and newcomers in a successful effort to stop that proposal – and eventually to change the way the Forest Service manages its lands. She died last September, at the age of 93.

The Alliance has grown from a small group of dedicated volunteers working out of the trunk of co-founder David Liden’s car and Esther’s living room to an organization with offices in Asheville and Franklin, five full- time staff, three part-time staff, and two AmeriCorps volunteers.

Renewing Our Roots – Program Details:

Daytime Program: Times TBD
Wildflower Hike: Led by WNCA’s Josh Kelly (moderate)
Birding: Walk on the Little Tennessee River Greenway in Franklin (easy)
Canoeing: Travel along the Little Tennessee section of the Needmore Tract near Franklin

Evening Program: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Memorial United Methodist Church, 4668 Old Murphy Road in Franklin
Activities: Barbecue dinner, live music and a presentation by Mars Hill history professor Kathy Newfont, author of “Blue Ridge Commons: Environmental Activism and Forest History in Western North Carolina.” The book features photos and a few chapters on the Alliance’s founding and advocacy in its early days in Macon County.

Please join us for this very special event by sending an RSVP to AnnaJane@wnca.org or by calling 828-258-8737.

I will probably not be able to cover this event because I will be covering the convention of the 11th Congressional District Republican Party in Haywood county that day and will be in Asheville afterward.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Today is the third and last day of arguments in the epic effort to overturn or blunt ObamaCare in the United States Supreme Court. I've been too busy to blog about it, but cannot let it go by unacknowledged. So, here are some links to what happened on the first and second day of arguments.

You can also download a PDF Guide to the issues before the Supreme Court from the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

I will post again after the third day, recapping this coverage with the addition of the third day argument.

So far, from what I have been able to gather, I am hopeful that...at the very least...the individual mandate is dead. If this is so, we will probably be able to render the rest of ObamaCare moot over the course of the next few months.

Day One

I have embedded the full audio from today's oral argument in the Supreme Court:

The curtain lifted this morning on the first act of the three-day drama that is the challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known (more colloquially) as just “the health care statute” and (mostly) by opponents “Obamacare.” And what a scene it was. Outside, protesters gathered with megaphones, while inside the courtroom the reporters craned their necks to spot politicians and other influential Washingtonians in the gallery.

The procedural issue before the Court in today’s argument was whether an obscure Reconstruction-era law, the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), would bar the Court from even considering the merits of the question that most people regard as the main event of the health care litigation: the constitutionality of the ACA’s requirement that virtually all Americans obtain health insurance by January 1, 2014 or face a penalty.

The issue comes up because the AIA prohibits lawsuits to challenge a tax until the tax has actually been assessed; the penalty for the failure to obtain insurance in the health care statute is, the argument goes, a tax for purposes of the AIA.

By the time the ninety minutes of argument were over, it seemed likely that the answer to that question is that the AIA will not stop the Court from deciding the constitutionality of the mandate. But if it remains to be seen how the Court will reach this result and move on to consider the mandate on its merits.

TODAY’S ISSUE: The applicability of the Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) as it relates to the individual mandate’s tax penalty.

KEY POINTS FROM THE ARGUMENT: Most of the justices seemed skeptical of the argument that the challenge to the individual mandate is barred by the AIA because the mandate is a tax. As Justice Ginsburg noted, “This is not a revenue-raising measure, because, if it’s successful, they won’t – nobody will pay the penalty and there will be no revenue to raise.” Justice Breyer agreed: “They called it a penalty and not a tax for a reason.”

This morning the Court reconvened to hear two hours’ worth of oral arguments on the question at the heart of the battle over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA): whether the government can require virtually all Americans to obtain health insurance by January 1, 2014 or face a penalty. Although this question had long been regarded as the “main event” of the three days that the Court will devote to oral arguments on the ACA, it gained even more significance (to the extent that such a thing is possible) after yesterday’s argument, in which the Justices signaled that they are not likely to let a little-known nineteenth-century law deter them from reaching the merits of today’s question. And after today’s argument, it is not at all clear whether the mandate will survive.

KEY POINTS FROM THE ARGUMENT: Several of the justices expressed skepticism about the propriety of the mandate. Justice Kennedy stated that the mandate “changes the relationship of the Federal Government to the individual in the very fundamental way.” Justice Scalia said that a law which violates the principle of limited powers cannot be “proper” within the meaning of the Necessary and Proper Clause. And Justices Roberts and Alito seemed deeply troubled by the government’s inability to articulate a limiting principle for the federal commerce power.

The Justices who seemed to favor the mandate’s constitutionality did not seem to agree on the basis for sustaining the law. Justice Breyer effectively conceded the challengers’ argument that upholding the mandate would make federal authority unlimited. Justice Ginsburg, by contrast, focused more narrowly on the costs uncompensated care have on the wider health insurance market.

Dear Members: Just a reminder that the Macon County Republican Convention is this Saturday, March 31st at 10:00 a.m. at the Community Building, 1288 Georgia Road. Registration is from 10:00 -11:00 a.m. with Precinct Meetings from 11:15 -11:45 a.m.. Representative Dale Folwell is the Keynote Speaker and there will be complimentary light morning foods. We hope to have everyone out of there by 1:00 pm.

Monday, March 26, 2012

67 Years ago, over 6,000 men died in the effort to take Iwo Jima and provide a stepping stone on the way to Japan. That was an era in which valor was common. May we never forget the men who died there, and never forget to honor their memories.
Visit Old Time Radio for some radio reporting from Iwo Jima as it happened.

And here is the Academy Award winning film, "The Sands of Iwo Jima"...

Sunday, March 25, 2012

I am proud to live in a community that takes time and makes the effort to honor those who have served our nation.

On Saturday, March 24, 2012, there was a parade and ceremony honoring the service of Vietnam Veterans in Franklin, NC. These are photos and video I took at the event. There is no video of the parade because I forgot to press the record button. I apologize for forgetting such a basic thing.

The parade and ceremony is rotated through Franklin, Bryson City and Cherokee. The last time it was held in Franklin was the inaugural year and you can see my coverage of the 2009 parade and the ceremony.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

The vanguard of the Viet Nam Veterans Day parade in Franklin, NC today.

I will have video and photos from the day by Monday.

*note* The Internet has been down at my house since around 6pm last night and it has not been restored yet, so I'm not guaranteeing that I'll be able to post photos and video as I process them this weekend. Thanks a lot, Frontier Communications.

The latest brouhaha in this excrutiatingly long and drawn out 2012 Republican Primary (thanks for nothing, RNC dimwits) implies that Rick Santorum would prefer President Obama to President Romney. I think his words have been taken out of context. Mind you, I am saying this as a supporter of Mitt Romney. First, as is my custom, I present the full speech so that you may gain an understanding of the context of how and when the words were said, so that you don't have to rely on soundbites created for political spin and to generate page views by irresponsible journalists and political pundits:

Rick Santorum Addresses The USAA in San Antonio, Texas

Rick Santorum Press Availability

The full extent of Rick Santorum's remark is as follows:

What I’ve said in this campaign is that if you look at the record on a lot of issues, I’ve taken a consistent approach throughout the course of my career. I believe in these fundamental freedom and the way we solve problems in America. And there are many on the Republican side of aisle who don’t…

That’s the sort of the approach. That’s the differentiation, if you will, between me going up against Barack Obama, where there really are real contrasts on the issues, as opposed to a lot of these candidates where it’s a race between Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. That’s not how you win.

In the last century, there’s one person, one Republican candidate, who defeated a Democratic Incumbent for re-election. One in the last century. And that was Ronald Reagan. Almost every other time we ran a moderate because we had to win. Republicans and Conservatives were so worried about getting control back that we have to win so we have to nominate someone who can appeal to-

No, you win by giving people a choice. You win by giving the people an opportunity to see a different vision for our country not someone who’s just going to be a little different from the person we have in there. If they’re going to be just a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk on what may be the Etch-a-sketch candidate of the future.”

Source: USAA Speech in San Antonio, Texas, transcribed from the first video in this blogpost.

He was answering a question during the Q&A Session that followed his speech to the USAA in San Antonio, Texas yesterday. No one at the event seems to have objected to the words in their original context. Someone decided to make a mountain out of a molehill.

For an example of the spin and yellow journalism as "journalists" sought to generate controversy where there is none, check out this article from CBS News:

Presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Thursday said Republicans should give President Barack Obama another term if Santorum isn’t the GOP nominee and for a second day compared rival Mitt Romney to an Etch A Sketch toy.

Santorum reiterated an argument he has made before: The former Massachusetts governor is not conservative enough to offer voters a clear choice in the fall election and that only he can provide that contrast.

“You win by giving people a choice,” Santorum said during a campaign stop in Texas. “You win by giving people the opportunity to see a different vision for our country, not someone who’s just going to be a little different than the person in there.”

Santorum added: “If they’re going to be a little different, we might as well stay with what we have instead of taking a risk of what may be the Etch A Sketch candidate for the future.”

I will repeat what I've said in other blogposts, on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and in conversations: This tinkering with the Republican Primary schedule so that the nomination process takes longer has done nothing but harm the party, the candidates and the chances that the eventual nominee will win the general election this November.

In a more perfect world, every member of the RNC who voted for this change to the Republican Primary Calendar should be brought up on the stage during the RNC Nominating Convention in Tampa, be tarred, feathered and rode out of the convetion on a rail so that they might be properly humiliated for their role in harming the Republican Party. I've embedded a visual aid below:

Thursday, March 22, 2012

A former contributor to this blog is now running for office in the 38th NC Senate District.
He is a solid conservative, and if you have the means, consider donating to his campaign effort.
~Thunder Pig
March 22, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

Richard Rivette for NC Senate

URGENT CAMPAIGN UNDER WAY.

Resend to your patriot friends please!

I need any donations anyone can spare

since we are all down to our spare change.

My Declaration of End Dependence

Dear Friends;

Very few of you know what I am about to announce:

I am Richard Rivette and I am a candidate for the North Carolina State Senate District 38

I hope to be a leading force in a state which can become a model for the nation. Other states have enacted policy reforms which have shown very positive results in taxation, regulation authority, education, transportation, energy production, job creation, crime prevention, and protection of your Constitutional rights.

The crisis of faith in our Federal government has lead me to the conclusion that only as individual states can we now succeed. We have to turn off the spigot of taxation and move forward without Federal dollars, because there simply are none. There never were. The government appropriated all our money and wasted it. This nation borrows 40% of what it is handing out in loans, grants, and stimulus payments. We cannot afford it. We are penniless. Our grandchildren are in debt several hundred thousand dollars the moment they are born.

MOVING THIS STATE FORWARD

I would like to have your support because I have a comprehensive set of proposals which I feel will help North Carolina recover from this Depression, and may encourage other states to do the same. Since the Federal government seems bent on imposing a radical socialist agenda which negates our guaranteed, God-given rights, I have decided to counter that by becoming a servant leader in my home state.

I AM A NON-POLITICIAN

• In my life, I started with nothing and built a business, a family, and created a home. I have lived the American Dream.

• I helped many others found and expand their businesses, resulting in job creation, so I know how it is done and what is standing in our way.

• I have immersed myself in history and economic policy and have been mentored in domestic and international business by leaders around the globe.

• I have volunteered in my community and helped my neighbors without fanfare.

• I am fully prepared to accept this responsibility and make our voices heard again, and our desires respected.

If you know me, you know I cannot keep silent. I never have been able to keep my opinion to myself. If you are half as angered over where our country is headed then I need your help to put a stop to it. We can start with this state and move forward from there. Sometimes it takes one person to step up and get the ball rolling and draw others to the cause. That’s who I’ve been my whole life.

SAVING OUR DREAM

We have a lot of work ahead, so if we start now we might save our children from facing the end of the America dream. We must restore our Bill of Rights and our national economic stability - “Because Freedom Matters”.

GO TO DONATE NOW - or click anywhere you see the flashing CREDIT CARD.

I accept anything and the terms are listed there. We cannot take corporate contributions.

MY PRIMARY IS ON MAY 8th - I MUST ACT NOW

I am not the establishment candidate chosen by the Republican party so I have to face a primary challenger who has boldly stated, “this race is not winnable”, and “socialism isn’t bad”. I am amazed he is even bothering to run for office with that attitude. Since I represent fiscal conservative, tea party and libertarian values, this did not sit well with me, and I hope not with you either.

MECKLENBURG VOTERS

If you reside in the 38th State Senate district in North Carolina (North Mecklenburg) I would like to meet with you personally to talk about issues, with your friends, family and associates. I need every vote, and every dollar I can muster. These are dangerous times, and as Thomas Paine would say, we need some “Common Sense”.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Members of the Franklin Police Department pose with David Adams, the new Chief of Police for the Town of Franklin, NC

The Town of Franklin held a reception to welcome the new Chief of Police for the Franklin Police Department today in the Town Hall. David Adams has been on the job for about three weeks now. I attended the reception and here is a short video from that event:

David Adams served as a Captain on the Hendersonville Police Department, having worked his way up over the course of 17 years from Patrol Officer. He previously served in the US Army from 1989 to 1993. He was a paratrooper and a squad leader. He has a Masters Degree in Management and Leadership and also has a BS and AD in Criminal Justice.

Mitt Romney won the Illinois primary last night with 428,434 votes to Rick Santorum's 321,079 votes.Ron Paul came in a distant third with 85,464 and Newt Gingrich finished fourth with only 72,942 votes. These numbers are with 99% of the votes counted.

This latest victory puts Mitt Romney in the neighborhood of 300 delegates ahead of Rick Santorum, 430 ahead of Newt Gingrich and around 500 or so ahead of Ron Paul. In the next few weeks, the already mathematically unlikely campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul will be mathematically eliminated from the possibility of gaining enough delegates to win as the number of delegates needed will become greater than those remaining to be won. The Gingrich and Paul Campaigns would already have to win in the neighborhood of 80% of the remaining delegates in order to secure the nomination of the Republican party. The Santorum Campaign needs nearly 70% to get the nomination and Romney needs less than 50% to cinch the nomination.

It's time the party closed ranks behind Mitt Romney and started working toward a victory in November. Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have already proved themselves incapable of working together within the Republican party in order to achieve a victory over Mitt Romney.

VideosMitt Romney Victory Speech

Rick Santorum After Losing Illinois

I could find no videos of Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich speaking after losing Illinois, so that must mean that the networks have pulled their embeds with those two campaigns since I've not been able to find video of either of them after the last few contests. You'd think that the campaigns would be smart enough to make their own videos and upload them to Youtube.

Here are some additional videos of the Romney Campaign activity in Illinois...

The Chart above shows the two paths that America has before it. One of ever increasing debt, and another where we pay it down...

Congressman Paul Ryan spoke about his new budget plan this morning [link to video] and the full plan is now available to the public to look at. I've embedded it below for your convenience.

Republicans and Democrats have a chance to work together and reverse the economic death spiral our economy is in, but they have to act quick, and this plan can get rid of our debt in about 40 years.

Form the House Budget Website:

For years, both political parties have made empty promises to the American people. Unfortunately, the President refuses to take responsibility for avoiding the debt-fueled crisis before us. Instead, his policies have put us on the path to debt and decline.

We reject the broken politics of the past. The American people deserve real solutions and honest leadership. That’s what we’re delivering with our budget, The Path to Prosperity. House Republicans are advancing a plan of action for American renewal.

Our budget:

Cuts government spending to protect hardworking taxpayers;

Tackles the drivers of our debt, so our troops don’t pay the price for Washington’s failure to take action;

Restores economic freedom and ensures a level playing field for all by putting an end to special-interest favoritism and corporate welfare;

Reverses the President’s policies that drive up gas prices, and instead promotes an all-of the-above strategy for unlocking American energy production to help lower costs, create jobs, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

Strengthens health and retirement security by taking power away from government bureaucrats and empowering patients instead with control over their own care;

At its core, this plan of action is about putting an end to empty promises from a bankrupt government and restoring the fundamental American promise: ensuring our children have more opportunity and inherit a stronger America than our parents gave us.

At 11am, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan will deliver remarks on the fiscal situation and economic challenges faced by the United States. These remarks will be followed by a question-and-answer period hosted by AEI President Arthur C. Brooks.

Here is a preview:

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan details what the choice of two futures means: a path to debt and decline versus a stronger, more prosperous path of less debt, lower taxes, and greater opportunity for generations to come.

The President and his party’s leaders refuse to take action in the face of the most predictable economic crisis in our nation’s history. The President’s budget calls for more spending and more debt, while Senate Democrats – for over 1,000 days – have refused to pass a budget. This unserious approach to budgeting has serious consequences for American families, seniors, and the next generation.
House Republicans refuse to ignore our generation’s greatest domestic challenge: reforming and modernizing government to prevent an explosion of debt from crippling our nation and robbing our children of their future. We’re advancing a budget that builds upon a bipartisan consensus for principled solutions: real spending discipline and restored economic freedom; patient-centered health care reform; and pro-growth tax reform. The House Republican budget – The Path to Prosperity – offers a clear choice of two futures. We’re putting our trust in the American people to choose a brighter future for generations to come.

I will replace the player with a recorded video as soon as it becomes available.

Contact & Crowd Funding

To submit releases for publication, email me here. This includes Guest Commentaries. If you have a photo that you wish me to use with your press release or article, please send it to me, otherwise I'll use whatever I feel best fits your article.

For a quicker response, send me a message on Twitter or add me to a circle on Google Plus and send it just to me.

If you have been sending me press releases via my private email address, that will continue to work just fine. The Twitter or Google+ account will get my attention quicker.

CROWD FUNDING

If you're of a mind, and can afford it, a dollar a month (or more) from enough people will make a huge difference in improving the quality of coverage of local meetings and events, as well as allowing remote weather stations and weather cams to be deployed throughout the county that you will be able to access online.

So far, 14 people have pledged $85 a month, and 8 of them are following through with $50 a month. This is a tremendous help. Please visit www.patreon.com/MaconMedia for more information on how to contribute.

Businesses can underwrite this coverage by day sponsorships, surplus equipment donations, etc. Inquire at editor@maconmedia.com for more information.